Feeling overwhelmed and anxious while grieving is natural and happens to many. It is an uncomfortable experience that can escalate and frighten you. It can incapacitate you, cause you to loose confidence, and prevent you from functioning very well.

Symptoms of feeling anxious may include taking shallow breaths and breathing too fast. You may not be able to keep your mind and body still. You could feel ungrounded and want to “take flight”. While you are anxious you might have difficulty eating, sleeping and being patient. Being anxious is not a good feeling, especially over a long period of time.

Taking in slow and deep breaths can help relieve anxiety and move you from feeling anxious to feeling calm. Let me guide you in a breathing exercise using color.

If possible find a place where you can sit or lie down comfortably. If this isn’t possible you can certainly do this exercise where ever you happen to be.

As you breathe, take a second or two to feel the anxiety within you. Now quickly associate a color with what you are feeling. The first color that comes to mind is the one that represents your anxiety. If a color doesn’t appear for you, then pick a color you don’t like much.

Now remember what it feels like when you are calm and quickly associate a color with calmness. Again, the first color that comes to mind is the one that represents being calm. If a color doesn’t come to you, then pick a color that you like.

With these two colors in your mind’s eye begin to take in slow and deep breaths that fill your lungs all the way down to your abdomen.

Breathe in the color that represents calm through your nose. Breathe out the color that represents anxiety through your mouth. You can imagine the air you breathe in and out is the color or you can think about the color as you breathe in and out.

If possible close your eyes. On the exhale feel your body relaxing into the chair, sofa or bed. If standing, feel your feet connecting with the floor or ground that supports you.

Continue to breathe in your color of calmness through your nose and to breathe out your color of anxiety through your mouth. Eventually you will no longer feel anxious and begin to feel calm. quiet and grounded. When this happens you may notice that you are now breathing your calm color on the intake breath as well as on the out breath.

When you repeat this exercise at different times you may notice that your colors representing anxiety and calmness change. This, of course, is OK and choosing to use the same colors again is OK too.

Sincerely sending you Peace & Love,

Tricia

This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2007 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Activities for Grief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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